Comparative study of succinylcholine and precurarization with rocuronium on muscular effects in patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia

ABSTRACT

Succinylcholine remains the drug of choice in conditions where rapid paralysis and airway control are priorities. However it is associated with muscular side effects that have an overall incidence ranging from five to 83 percent. The administration of small doses of nondepolarizing muscle relaxants before the administration of succinylcholine has been shown to decrease the incidence and severity of muscular side effects experienced by the patients. This study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of technique in reducing the muscular side effects of succinylcholine. Sixty healthy adults were enrolled in the study who were scheduled for minor muscle cutting surgeries under genera lanaesthesia. They were assigned at random to two groups of thirty patients each. They randomly received succinylcholine for intubation and a precurarization dose of rocuronium followed by succinylcholine for intubation. Intraoperative fasciculations and postoperative myalgia were graded and scored. There was a significantly increased incidence of fasciculations and myalgia in the succinlcholine group. In the precurarization group the incidence and severity of fasciculations and myalgia was significantly less as compared to the group which received succinylcholine alone. We found significant correlation between fasciculations and myalgia in the succinylchloine group. Present study concluded that precurarization with rocuronium was effective in reducing the succinylcholine-induced fasciculations and myalgia